Stormy weather targets California before official start of spring
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 14, 2020 2:59 PM EDT
As people are celebrating Pi day in many different ways. Accuweather's Dexter Henry takes a look at the day and how 3.14 impacts weather forecasting.
The final days of winter will bring more stormy weather across much of California.
A storm started off the weekend along the Northern California coast, helping to produce snow and blizzard conditions across the Cascades and northern Rockies.
The storm will shift southward along the California coast through Tuesday night and cause precipitation to spread into Southern California.
Fresno has largely missed out on beneficial rain so far, but the forecast for Monday will bring plenty of wet weather to the city and much of the San Joaquin Valley.
"Even with the center of the storm staying offshore for the most part, multiple rounds of rainfall and mountain snow are expected across California and Nevada through Tuesday night," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards.
Overall, rainfall amounts across the region will range from 0.25-0.75 of an inch, but some locations that may get hit by more than a single heavy downpour could end up with rainfall totals of an inch or two.
"In areas hit by multiple heavier rounds, localized flooding will be a concern, especially in low-lying areas. Mudslides will also be a concern in the higher terrain," Edwards said.
Much of the higher terrain will also continue to have precipitation fall as snow. Through Sunday, locales across the central and northern Sierras have measured snowfall by the foot as the storm dumped beneficial snow.
Through Monday, the steadiest snow will target portions of the central and northern Sierras in California once again.
Snow will continue to make travel difficult in these areas through early week, including along I-80 through Donner Pass. The fresh snow could increase the avalanche risk in the region.
As heavy snow fell Saturday night, a 60 mile stretch of I-80 closed in the Sierras to all traffic. The interstate has since reopened to motorists, but still remains closed to tractor trailer semis as of Sunday night. It is possible that additional travel restrictions get put into place Monday as snow continues.
All of the travel issues aside, snow will be welcome for ski resorts in the Sierras that have so far experienced below-normal snow amounts this season.
Through Tuesday, as much as 1-3 feet of additional snow could fall in the highest terrain of the Sierra Nevada's helping to make up the deficit.
At the end of February, a survey conducted by the Department of Water Resources at the Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada of California revealed a mere 29 inches of snow depth with a water equivalent of 11.5 inches. This was less than 50% of average for the season so far.
A small gathering of media attend the California Department of Water Resources third snow survey of the 2020 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada. The survey site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Photo taken Feb. 27, 2020. (Kelly M. Grow / California Department of Water Resources)
As the storm system continues to pivot into Southern California, enough cold air could filter in to bring snow to places like Tejon Pass and along Interstate 5 near the Grapevine Monday night into Tuesday.
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The overall drier-than-normal conditions in California and much of the Southwest have brought concerns about how this could affect the coming spring and summer.
The rainy season for California typically begins in October and runs through late-March, which is when the state receives most of its rain for the year.
"California got all the rain early in the rainy season, and since then it has been virtually nothing through the first week of March," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski.
As a result, despite the recent wet weather in Southern California, the majority of the state was abnormally dry or in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s update on March 12.
AccuWeather Meteorologists are hoping for a "Miracle March" and April to help prevent an early and long-enduring wildfire season.
A steady rain across much of California will likely taper to more scattered shower activity into the day on Wednesday as the storm system begins to target the Desert Southwest.
Phoenix and Las Vegas will need to keep an eye out for potentially heavy rain from this storm system at midweek.
Enough cold air is expected to remain in place to allow for rain to transition over to snow in Flagstaff, Arizona Wednesday into Wednesday night.
Courtesy of a storm system not even a week ago across the Desert Southwest, all of the aforementioned cities have observed above-average precipitation so far through March. But, in similar fashion to California, much of the winter season featured very dry conditions.
As the system moves east, flooding and washouts will be a concern across the area.
"This same system may be responsible for igniting severe weather across the center of the country late week," added Edwards.
Enough cold air is expected to be pulled down on the backside of the storm as it moves into the Plains, bringing the threat for a swath of snow, and blustery north winds across the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Stormy weather targets California before official start of spring
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 14, 2020 2:59 PM EDT
As people are celebrating Pi day in many different ways. Accuweather's Dexter Henry takes a look at the day and how 3.14 impacts weather forecasting.
The final days of winter will bring more stormy weather across much of California.
A storm started off the weekend along the Northern California coast, helping to produce snow and blizzard conditions across the Cascades and northern Rockies.
The storm will shift southward along the California coast through Tuesday night and cause precipitation to spread into Southern California.
Fresno has largely missed out on beneficial rain so far, but the forecast for Monday will bring plenty of wet weather to the city and much of the San Joaquin Valley.
"Even with the center of the storm staying offshore for the most part, multiple rounds of rainfall and mountain snow are expected across California and Nevada through Tuesday night," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards.
Overall, rainfall amounts across the region will range from 0.25-0.75 of an inch, but some locations that may get hit by more than a single heavy downpour could end up with rainfall totals of an inch or two.
"In areas hit by multiple heavier rounds, localized flooding will be a concern, especially in low-lying areas. Mudslides will also be a concern in the higher terrain," Edwards said.
Much of the higher terrain will also continue to have precipitation fall as snow. Through Sunday, locales across the central and northern Sierras have measured snowfall by the foot as the storm dumped beneficial snow.
Through Monday, the steadiest snow will target portions of the central and northern Sierras in California once again.
Snow will continue to make travel difficult in these areas through early week, including along I-80 through Donner Pass. The fresh snow could increase the avalanche risk in the region.
As heavy snow fell Saturday night, a 60 mile stretch of I-80 closed in the Sierras to all traffic. The interstate has since reopened to motorists, but still remains closed to tractor trailer semis as of Sunday night. It is possible that additional travel restrictions get put into place Monday as snow continues.
All of the travel issues aside, snow will be welcome for ski resorts in the Sierras that have so far experienced below-normal snow amounts this season.
Through Tuesday, as much as 1-3 feet of additional snow could fall in the highest terrain of the Sierra Nevada's helping to make up the deficit.
At the end of February, a survey conducted by the Department of Water Resources at the Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada of California revealed a mere 29 inches of snow depth with a water equivalent of 11.5 inches. This was less than 50% of average for the season so far.
A small gathering of media attend the California Department of Water Resources third snow survey of the 2020 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada. The survey site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Photo taken Feb. 27, 2020. (Kelly M. Grow / California Department of Water Resources)
As the storm system continues to pivot into Southern California, enough cold air could filter in to bring snow to places like Tejon Pass and along Interstate 5 near the Grapevine Monday night into Tuesday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The overall drier-than-normal conditions in California and much of the Southwest have brought concerns about how this could affect the coming spring and summer.
The rainy season for California typically begins in October and runs through late-March, which is when the state receives most of its rain for the year.
"California got all the rain early in the rainy season, and since then it has been virtually nothing through the first week of March," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski.
As a result, despite the recent wet weather in Southern California, the majority of the state was abnormally dry or in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s update on March 12.
AccuWeather Meteorologists are hoping for a "Miracle March" and April to help prevent an early and long-enduring wildfire season.
Related:
A steady rain across much of California will likely taper to more scattered shower activity into the day on Wednesday as the storm system begins to target the Desert Southwest.
Phoenix and Las Vegas will need to keep an eye out for potentially heavy rain from this storm system at midweek.
Enough cold air is expected to remain in place to allow for rain to transition over to snow in Flagstaff, Arizona Wednesday into Wednesday night.
Courtesy of a storm system not even a week ago across the Desert Southwest, all of the aforementioned cities have observed above-average precipitation so far through March. But, in similar fashion to California, much of the winter season featured very dry conditions.
As the system moves east, flooding and washouts will be a concern across the area.
"This same system may be responsible for igniting severe weather across the center of the country late week," added Edwards.
Enough cold air is expected to be pulled down on the backside of the storm as it moves into the Plains, bringing the threat for a swath of snow, and blustery north winds across the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo